Artificial intelligence can build a city, design your attainable life goals and render a deepfake that’s way too convincing. But has it figured out a way to make us care? Luckily, that part still needs a storyteller. That’s the drive behind the MACRO and A16Z Cultural Leadership Fund’s launch of the Epigraph Creator Fellowship, which brings together content creators and AI technology to help get our stories told.
On July 30, guests gathered to celebrate its inaugural class, where seven filmmakers debuted projects developed with some of the most talked-about generative AI tools in the industry. Guests like actor Rome Flynn and Jerri Johnson, along with journalist Van Lathan and more, joined the fellows at MACRO Foundation Presents Summernight, held at The Preserve LA, to connect and celebrate culture on display.
The fellowship’s participants spent eight weeks receiving hands-on instruction and production resources from OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Gamma, Promise Studios, Descript, Coactive and Curious Refuge. Already accomplished storytellers whose work had appeared at Tribeca, the American Black Film Festival and several streaming networks, this fellowship offered direct access to the resources shaping the next era of entertainment.
The goal of the program isn’t to have AI deliver a fully-realized final product for filmmakers. It cannot replace taste, instinct or cultural perspective. But it can aid storytellers in their journey to get there.
“Storytellers have always led the way, setting the direction and shaping the culture. The Epigraph Creator Fellowship puts the power of today’s technology directly in their hands so they can expand and build the worlds they envision on their own terms,” said Stacey Walker King, Chief Brand Officer at MACRO. “Technology doesn’t lead creativity. Creators do, and now they have the tools to go even further.”
Added Judene Small Jean-Louis, a partner at the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund: “An epigraph frames meaning before the story even begins. We built this fellowship because creators and technologists are shaping storytelling in real time — but too often in silos. Epigraph brings them into the same room, creating real exposure on both sides and shifting how technology and culture come together.”
A Personal Perspective
Being a part of the Epigraph Creator Fellowship “has opened doors not only in the world of AI Filmmaking but also expanded my relationships in the rapidly growing tech community,” stated participant Justice Whitaker. “Having hands-on access to top industry Generative AI Cinema Tools gave me the opportunity and relationship with the technology to formulate a significant vision [with] this technology … to achieve my long-term goals.”
Bianca Lambert created a proof of concept of a pitched project that had been rejected six times, using AI to create characters who could walk and speak and bring her story to life. “That changes everything about how I pitch,” she said.
For those who fear that AI will replace real human emotion, Chazitear Martin states otherwise. While she could share her story with the technology, her biggest lesson was to “stop trying to find soul in generative AI, and be the Creative, and tell a vibrant, beautiful, emotionally detailed story,” she shared.
Sulayman Tahir agreed. “The experience reinforced that every creative decision still depends on a filmmaker’s taste, instincts, and point of view,” Tahir stated. “Rather than replacing the craft, AI expanded my creative toolkit and challenged me to think bigger, experiment more boldly, and approach storytelling in ways I hadn’t imagined.”
For Nick Barili, using AI technology has the “potential to fundamentally reshape the entertainment industry by giving independent creators the ability to bring ambitious stories to life without waiting for a traditional Hollywood greenlight. Rather than replacing creativity, these tools can amplify it.” Fellow coohort John Burr declared, “AI is most powerful when it is guided by a clear human vision.”
Tedra Wilson praised that opportunity and made a bold suggestion. “I would love to see more technology brands develop meaningful partnerships with Black creators that also include capital to move projects beyond experimentation and into production or higher learning in the space.”
AI can generate a story. But these filmmakers are making sure those stories have heart and soul.
